3rd best team in the Big Sky?

[jon]

Hello all! It seems that WSU are very active and knowledgeable about the Big Sky as a whole, so wanted to get your opinion on this.

It seems to me that Weber and Montana are 1-2 in the BSC, but things are open after that.

First, do you agree that Weber and Montana look like 1-2?
Second, who do you see as the third best team in the conference?

 

[oldrunner]

I can not vote for EWU until I see what the new coach is all about. I've seen PSU's organization and I am not impressed, no matter what talent they may have. NAU had a good recruiting year and their coach will get the most out of them. They get my vote.

 

[WSUnPurple1]

I think the loss of Qvale takes them out of title contention. Cherry, Jamar, and Steward are all very solid, but Selvig is too inconsistent and soft. I think Montana takes 3rd, and EWU takes 2nd. EWU brought in the Cali JC player of the year, and that zeros out the loss of Dean to me, and as we have discussed the Eagles have a lot of good looking guards starting off with Coliman, Forbes, and Winford. NAU lost way too much, Jones, D. Jones, Johannsen sp? I don't think they will be in the top 3.

 

[WILDCAT]

I voted for Eastern, I Think Weber and Montana are locks for 1 and 2 then Eastern at 3 after that its anybodies guess.

 

[jon]

I can not vote for EWU until I see what the new coach is all about. I've seen PSU's organization and I am not impressed, no matter what talent they may have. NAU had a good recruiting year and their coach will get the most out of them. They get my vote.

It will be interesting to see EWU and how they play under Hayford, they should be extremely intriguing this year. Their personnel could suit them to a pretty exciting style of play. On paper I think PSU might be the third best team in the Conference, but we will see how that plays out. Tough to ever count Adras out, seems like NAU is near the top more often than not. If Cheek can be a stud early, look out. Ii am with Skeeter though, think it will be tough for them to get back to the top 3.

I think the loss of Qvale takes them out of title contention. Cherry, Jamar, and Steward are all very solid, but Selvig is too inconsistent and soft. I think Montana takes 3rd, and EWU takes 2nd. EWU brought in the Cali JC player of the year that zeros out the loss of Dean, and as we have discussed the Eagles have a lot of good looking guards starting off with Coliman, Forbes, and Winford. NAU lost way to much, I don't think they will be in the top 3.

Yeah I like Collin Chiverton a lot for EWU, and they also get Willie Hankins back from a redshirt year, a lot of Eagles fans are excited about him. I think style of play will be interesting for EWU... last year they were a pretty slow paced team even with all of the guards... I wonder if Hayford is going to speed things up? I do still think Montana will be 2 but it's not hard to picture a scenario where they drop a bit.

 

[weberwildcat]

NAU and MSU are my top choices for 3rd. I'm sold on Weber and Griz top 2. I am unsure about EWU with Dean out and a new coach. I don't think Ehlo is eligible. UNC without Beitzel is Weber post Boyette. I don't know enough about the new season so I went with Bobcats. PSU without Bone is old school PSU so I will predict them bottom 4.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Good question!!

I think NAU will be a solid team. The Jacks have a good coach, they have a solid recruiting class coming in with a couple of really good looking JC Transfers and two exceptional Freshman recruits, and finally, they have enough coming back, Salvador and Rogers specifically, to cause some headaches. However, does Adras have enough firepower coming in, and returning, to pick up the slack being created by the graduation of Cam Jones?

MSU, PSU, and Eastern all could vy for this spot too. However, like Oldrunner has said earlier, PSU has some really talented players in their program, but the coaching is suspect. Once again, the Vikings will be generating some buzz with their recruiting class and their returning players. They have the talent to compete, but will that talent mesh? To me, it really seems as if the team is totally out of control. Their isn't anyone guiding the ship.

MSU...same issues as PSU, even though I think Huse is a better coach. State is brining in a number of JC transfers with the hope that these guys will be able to put together two solid seasons and right the sinking ship that has become Bobcat basketball since Durham was fired. Yes, I think Huse and MSU have a great shot at putting something together. They have some really strong and talented JC recruits joining the team, along with a couple of solid players returning.

Eastern...hmmm...I guess a lot of Easterns success rests upon Haywords abillity to pull his team together. Colimon proved that he can lead the Eagles and at the end of last season could arguably been seen as the emerging team leader. Dean and Forbes leaving the team could really hurt the Eagles, yet, I really think that the Eagles can make some serious noise next season. Chiverton, to me, is as good of a replacement for Dean that the Eagles could get. Hayward hit a home-run with that addition. Add Chiverton with the returning players Colimon, Winford, and the Eagles backcourt Eastern could be really dangerous. As for Hayward being a good coach...hmmm...I think he is a proven commodity.

To me the top six will be:

1. Weber
2. Montana
3. NAU
4. Eastern
5. MSU
6. PSU
Just for fun now. Also you can't count any of these teams out. UNCO is young but if things come together quickly they could move up this list:
7. ISU
8. UNCO
9. SAC

 

[weberwildcat]

trying to predict the 3rd place team isnt an easy one. it will be interesting to see the coaches/media in october.

my guess as of now:
1. Weber - only 2 seniors, 5 fresh, but could be the best team under rahe so far (no dis to 2009 team's 15-1 mark)
2. Montana
3. NAU - not sure if they really finish better without jones but they should be good
4. MSU - they seem between 4-6 a lot.
5. Eastern - hard to predict with so many changes, prior to the firing i would have them 2nd-3rd.
6. UNC - no devon is a huge loss, i think they are still a top 6 though.
7. PSU - 2010 they were 7-9, 13-19 with waters & jones as seniors....how? if they can't get 1st or 2nd with that team i can't see any reason to get them in the top 6.
8. Sac
9. ISU


without knowing anything about 2012 season i think you can almost bank on the following based on past trends and current coaching staffs.

weber, montana top 3
nau a top 4
msu 4-6
isu/sac not in

unknowns:
ewu - new coach, new players
unc - hill has been coach for only one yr and beitzel is graduated. he's the best player they have had in DI. banks, figures and Yahosh Bonner were all very good as well. just hard to predict them for me.
psu - new coach, not living up to expectations, a 2011 post season ban, not sure about them but ill guess 6th or 7th.

 

[WILDCAT]

1. Weber State (Too much talent, THEY BETTER USE IT)
2. Montana (Even without the big man, they are still dangerous)
3. Eastern Washington (Glen scored a grand total 7 points in thier win in Ogden, 4 other Eagles scored more than he did and a combined 59 points, they will be good too)
4. Northern Arizona (A Baldy coached NAU will always be in the hunt for a championship)
5. Northern Colorado (They lost a lot, but they are still a scrappy team)
6. Montana State (MSU is top 6 just because everyone below them is not as good as they are)
7. Portland State (No team chemistry)
8. Sacramento State (Is improving, will be back in the BSC tourney eventually)
9. Idaho State (LOL) (Seriously, thier fanbase has 0 confidence in this incoming team)

 

[WSUnPurple1]

Forbes didn't leave EWU, I think it was Allen who left.

I think NAU will probably finish 4th or 5th with Rogers help, He's almost as good of shooter as Bamforth. Two of the best shooters in the country in the Big Sky. NAU finished at 4th with one of the top 2 players in the conference in senior Cam Jones, I'm not sure how they could finish better than that without him. Yaknowwhatimean?

 

[n.ogdencat]

trying to predict the 3rd place team isnt an easy one. it will be interesting to see the coaches/media in october.

my guess as of now:
1. Weber - only 2 seniors, 5 fresh, but could be the best team under rahe so far (no dis to 2009 team's 15-1 mark)
2. Montana
3. NAU - not sure if they really finish better without jones but they should be good
4. MSU - they seem between 4-6 a lot.
5. Eastern - hard to predict with so many changes, prior to the firing i would have them 2nd-3rd.
6. UNC - no devon is a huge loss, i think they are still a top 6 though.
7. PSU - 2010 they were 7-9, 13-19 with waters & jones as seniors....how? if they can't get 1st or 2nd with that team i can't see any reason to get them in the top 6.
8. Sac
9. ISU


without knowing anything about 2012 season i think you can almost bank on the following based on past trends and current coaching staffs.

weber, montana top 3
nau a top 4
msu 4-6
isu/sac not in

unknowns:
ewu - new coach, new players
unc - hill has been coach for only one yr and beitzel is graduated. he's the best player they have had in DI. banks, figures and Yahosh Bonner were all very good as well. just hard to predict them for me.
psu - new coach, not living up to expectations, a 2011 post season ban, not sure about them but ill guess 6th or 7th.

The only thing I disagree with you about is UNCO. I know that Hill has a decent recruiting class coming in, but without Beitzel this team is really a shell of its former self. Yes, there is talent there and they will be good in a year or two, but next season will be rough in Greeley. I could be wrong though and if I am, I will eat crow.

 

[n.ogdencat]

Forbes didn't leave EWU, I think it was Allen who left.

I think NAU will probably finish 4th or 5th with Rogers help, He's almost as good of shooter as Bamforth. Two of the best shooters in the country in the Big Sky. NAU finished at 4th with one of the top 2 players in the conference in senior Cam Jones, I'm not sure how they could finish better than that without him. Yaknowwhatimean?

You are right...it was Allen who left. Forbes is still on the team.

NAU, MSU, EWU, and PSU all could be in the mix for third place. I think the difference is between them will come down to coaching, team experience, and how quickly their new recruits can mesh with the returning players. NAU's biggest weakness is their bigs. They have two decent looking JC bigs coming in though.

 

[oldrunner]

Everyone is making good points. That is what is so interesting about this upcoming season. There are five teams that can finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th. We are only an injury away from being in that pack as well. We may have enough depth to overcome an injury such as we had last year. I don't think that anything like that will happen, but you never know. It could happen to other teams and often does happen to at least one in our league every year. Games aren't won on paper and thank goodness for that. There are many things that are predictable and many more that are not. That is exactly why I love it so much. :blah: :blah: :rockon:

 

[mt jack]

I love how a college basketball thread is getting this much traffic on August 31st. Football season hasn't even started. Awesome-ness, Weber fans.

NAU returns 7 players who have seen any court time at all. Three who have started or seen significant minutes - Smith, Rogers and Saldivar. Flores and Dunn saw some minutes. The bench will be literally filled with new faces next season. One who sat out last year with a knee injury (Schaefer - a "big" tranfer from U of Portland) and one who redshirted (wing...Bewernick). The rest are transfers or true freshmen. Lots of youth.

I truly have no idea what to expect. But I am stoked that NAU's playing UofA in Tucson, ASU in Tempe (haven't seen this in writing yet but a little bird told me) and BYU in Prescott. Nobody will play in Flagstaff but at least that's three decent non-conference games in-state.

My initial guess is EWU comes in third place this season. Just a hunch. I don't count out Adras though.

 

[WSUFootballer]

Vote was Montana St. It will be EWU, NAU or MSU. It should be Portland but they suck now. NAU Rogers could be an MVP candidate. There are only 2 teams that are out of the discussion. Idaho and Sacramento.

 

[WILDCAT]

I love how a college basketball thread is getting this much traffic on August 31st. Football season hasn't even started. Awesome-ness, Weber fans.

Basketball flows through our veins all year long, its who we are up here in Ogden :-D

 

[PURPLEFORLIFE]

With the additions of Antonio Bigolow, Jamie Stewart, Xavian Johnson-Blount, and Mohamed Fall along with returning Bobcats Rod Singleton, Jordan Allou, Eric Reid, and Tre Johnson, I really think that Brad Huse has assembled a really dangerous team. Honestly, I think that UM is going to be the third place team with MSU being the second best team in the league. Of course I'm a homer, so #1 belongs to Randy Rahe's Wildcats.

NAU has some good looking players coming on board and returning, but I don't think they come together this year. Watch out for the Lumberjacks next year though. Eastern has too many questions marks; new coach, loss of Dean and Allen, can Colimon be the go to guy every day? Yes, Chiverton definitely takes pressure off of the Eagles back-court, but who knows if he will pan out or not. My money says he does, but the Eagles may be one year away from being a true competitor for the conference crown. PSU has the talent, but the coach isn't the best and Northern Colorado is too young. Yes with Proctor, Unruh, Elliot, Osborn, and Addo they could make a run, I just think they are a year or so away from doing it. ISU and SAC, all I can say is Yikes! Sac is doing what they can to be competitive, and hopefully they can pull off more W's in the OOC which will help their RPI and the conferences, same with ISU, but I'm not counting on that happening.

Next year could be the best year in the Big Sky in decades. Every team is looking like they will be stacked. This season will be fun and a dog fight, but next season could really end up being something surreal. Weber, UM, MSU, Eastern, PSU, UNC and NAU all will have a lot of talent and could each vy for the championship. Also, even though they haven't been the strongest the last few years, don't count out UND either. They have a lot of talent and have had a couple of really strong recruiting classes. Unfortunately, SUU isn't looking as solid, but Reid could surprise us.

 

[weberwildcat]

With the additions of Antonio Bigolow, Jamie Stewart, Xavian Johnson-Blount, and Mohamed Fall along with returning Bobcats Rod Singleton, Jordan Allou, Eric Reid, and Tre Johnson, I really think that Brad Huse has assembled a really dangerous team. Honestly, I think that UM is going to be the third place team with MSU being the second best team in the league. Of course I'm a homer, so #1 belongs to Randy Rahe's Wildcats.

NAU has some good looking players coming on board and returning, but I don't think they come together this year. Watch out for the Lumberjacks next year though. Eastern has too many questions marks; new coach, loss of Dean and Allen, can Colimon be the go to guy every day? Yes, Chiverton definitely takes pressure off of the Eagles back-court, but who knows if he will pan out or not. My money says he does, but the Eagles may be one year away from being a true competitor for the conference crown. PSU has the talent, but the coach isn't the best and Northern Colorado is too young. Yes with Proctor, Unruh, Elliot, Osborn, and Addo they could make a run, I just think they are a year or so away from doing it. ISU and SAC, all I can say is Yikes! Sac is doing what they can to be competitive, and hopefully they can pull off more W's in the OOC which will help their RPI and the conferences, same with ISU, but I'm not counting on that happening.

Next year could be the best year in the Big Sky in decades. Every team is looking like they will be stacked. This season will be fun and a dog fight, but next season could really end up being something surreal. Weber, UM, MSU, Eastern, PSU, UNC and NAU all will have a lot of talent and could each vy for the championship. Also, even though they haven't been the strongest the last few years, don't count out UND either. They have a lot of talent and have had a couple of really strong recruiting classes. Unfortunately, SUU isn't looking as solid, but Reid could surprise us.

earlywine's teams didn't do well in his 4 years but to think he had dean and 6 seniors coming for 2011-12 they might have been really good. top 3 for sure. but i guess ewu didn't believe in him after having 4 yrs so they decided to cut their losses which included 2 seniors and dean. ewu should be able to make the conf tourney but i cant seem them finishing 3rd. also maybe ewu knew earlywine would have a good yr then they might be obligated to keep him on another few yrs since he would be needing to sign a contract so they got rid of him in advance.

 

[n.ogdencat]

There is a lot of talk about the Eagles...yet, after beating Montana in Cheney, and then Weber in Ogden last year and putting a slight scare into the Cats during the conference quaterfinals there should be a lot of talk. That team, even though it was fairly late in the season, finally came together and started playing some really good basketball. But, since there has been some upheavel in Cheney. I'm not sure how good of a coach Hayford is, but personally, I think the Eagles stole one, no matter, I think by firing Earlywine the Eagles Administration put the basketball team back a year. I think a lot is riding on how good Chiverton is, how quickly he can mesh with the other guys, and whether or not he can take the place of Dean. Forbes is a two year starter and lettermen and is succinctly the leader of that team, and along with Colimon and Winford can, even if Chiverton doesn't live up to the Hype, be enough for the Eagles to have success. Personally I think the Eagles have a good mix of talent between their frontcourt and backcourt, and by adding Chiverton it gives the Eagles that much more talent and automatic depth. Now it depends on the intangibles.


We can't forget that the Eagles also have two transfers who will be able to play next year. One from Oregon and the other from St. Josephs.

 

[WSUnPurple1]

No mention of Tremayne Johnson for EWU, probably their most talented player. His offer from Arizona was pulled after the hiring of Sean Miller in a coaching change. I think he had 17 against us in March.
Anybody who doesn't think EWU can't take 2nd or 3rd this season wasn't in attendance, or wasn't watching close enough the last 2 home games of the season. THEY BEAT US BY 16 AT HOME. Our only other loss at home was to byu by 4.